Hello Fellow Circus Ponies’ NoteBook (CPN) Lovers,
Just so you know I created this thread account to post this one-time only response.
In my personal opinion, I found an exceptional CPN replacement app.
Before I upgraded to MacOS Mojave I exported my CPN notebooks in .HTML, .NB, .OPML, and .RTFD file formats. Perhaps, I should have also exported them in the .NBML file format. Nonetheless, I am well pleased.
Thus far, I imported just one of my old CPN notebooks; it was exported in the .RTFD file format. I choose to use this file format to import my old CPN notebook because I knew it retained my file attachments and text formatting, and in this case all of the attached files were image files. The result was the entire notebook imported into one page in the replacement app. All of the folder structure was not there, but the format of the text was retained, which allowed me to recall the folder structure. At this point, all I need to do is recreate the folder structure by copying and pasting each old CPN page into sections and pages in the new app's section and page structure. One drawback is the new app does not allow folder (section) nesting beyond one level. In other words, the new app has what I call a top folder structure called Contents. Within Contents the app allows as many sections as one prefers to add. The problem is a section only allows one level below itself. This sub-section is where the notebook pages reside. Yet, there is no limit to the number of pages allowed in a single section. Each of these pages are on the same sub-section level. No nesting is allowed below the page level. The work-around I image is to just create more sections (folders) than I did in CPN, and in the new app I will give similar names to each section so I recall their organized relationship to one another. Those of you that recall, CPN allowed us to create as many sub-folders as we desired. At least I never ran into a limit. Again, the work-around is to now give each section in the new app a common prepend followed by the specific folder (section) name (e.g., the prepend might be Healthy Eating, and the specific section names could be something like Morning Meals, Afternoon Meals, Evening Meals, Holiday Meals, so one section will be named Healthy Eating - Morning Meals, etc.).
I admit this app is not a feature for feature match, but it rocks! My favorite CPN feature was the ability to to create internal links to specific words or phrases (e.g., to link from one word to another word on the same page, to link to another word on a different page, and to link to another word on a page in a different notebook). Wow, I love this feature! It is crucial to the way I think. Other apps feature internal link creation from a specific word to a general page (note), but this is unsuitable because many days, weeks, months, or years later how would I remember where on the linked page (note) I wanted to navigate.
One feature this app does not have is the MacOS QuickLook feature where we could within CPN press the spacebar to QuickLook files like PDF documents, images, etc. This was another feature I used a lot, but in this replacement app any file like this can be opened in the default app it would normally open in if double-clicked in the Finder. Also, there is a feature called X-Ray Info Box, this works similar to QuickLook, but not quite the same if you ask me.
Alright, I won't make you sweat anymore. The name of the CPN replacement app I recently purchased from the Apple Mac App Store is NoteTaker 4, priced at what I think is an undervalued $29.99. Unfortunately, there is no free trial version available, so you choose what works best for you.
Alternatively, those of you that are not willing to give up using CPN can still use it while also using the latest version of MacOS, if you so desire.
How so?
If you are willing to invest more than $29.99 you can purchase a virtualization app like Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion. I think you can purchase either of these two apps for about $50 USD. Personally, I have a license for Parallels Desktop Pro, but I cannot give any feedback because I have not yet installed it. Nevertheless, either of these two apps should allow you to install and run a version of MacOS that will run CPN. I never upgraded to Sierra or High Sierra. I went straight from El Capitan to Mojave. So, as I said, if you refuse to let go of CPN, just run it through the emulation app of your choice. In fact, if you are willing to give it a try, maybe one of the free virtualization apps will work with this idea. I think VirtualBox and Wine are free, but I don't know if they will run older versions of MacOS / OS X.
In case you are wondering, I am not associated with any of the developers of the apps I just recommended. I am just a fellow CPN lover like you, and I took the time to go into such detail because I searched for years to find a suitable replacement app for CPN, and for my needs I have found it in NoteTaker 4. Besides, if I were associated with any of these developers, tell me which one do you think I am associated with because I gave alternatives, some free and some at a cost? Think it through, please. Thank you, and you're welcome.
I will not monitor this thread, nor my one-time post. I think I've given more than enough. I encourage you to think it through, and do what you choose to do. I have nothing to gain, nor lose by posting once, and leaving you to think it through and make your own decision(s). It will cost you more to tuff it out and stick with CPN because you will not be able to upgrade your version of MacOS / OS X. Besides, if you choose my suggested alternative, it will cost you more to use Parallels Desktop or VMWare, if you choose to bypass the freeware options of VirtualBox or Wine. Do what works best for you. Personally, I am happy with my decision, so I am going out of my way to share with you. Unfortunately, some of you are bound to accuse me of lying, but you have no proof of such an accusation. I and others will move on, and you’ll do what you choose to do.
Lastly, I will post this same text, word for word, if it doesn’t exceed a word limit, as a review on the NoteTaker 4 page in the Mac App Store. Otherwise, I will just give a great review in as many words as I can.
Best wishes,
CPN Lover
